"Singing Family" Battle Of Youngsters
Kids belying their age starred in the third finalists' round of The Early Show's "Singing Family Face Off" Wednesday.
It pitted "J4," Smith family siblings from rural Bluff City, Tenn., ages 7 to 15, in their maiden appearance before an audience, against the Sledge Grits Band, hailing from Salinas, Calif., and made up of four sisters ranging in age from 6 to 13.
The oldest two of the Smith siblings have played for a couple of years for services at the church across the street, where their dad, Mark, is pastor.
You'll understand how "J4" got its name when you see its members' names:
Mark travels the country as a gospel singer, so that may be where the family talent comes from.
Their mom, Lori Smith, writes most of the band's original music and coordinates their outfits.
The four Sledge sisters do blues/rock combos.
That band is comprised of Keiko, 14, who plays guitar, Kariel, 12, bass, Mimi, 9, who sings, and Bo-pah, 6, the drummer.
The name "Sledge Grits Band" is a combination of their last name, Sledge, and one of their favorite foods, grits. They say GRITS is also an acronym for "Girls Raised in The South" -- though they now live in Salinas with their parents, they used to live in the South, in Florida.
Both family bands performed gospel numbers, a genre determined by the spin of a wheel last week on The Early Show.
"J4" belted out "Shackles," by Mary Mary:
The Sledge Grits Band did "Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)," by Aretha Franklin:
Then, it was time for Early Show viewers to for their favorite.
The winner will face the top vote-getters from the previous two finalists' rounds, on Wednesday, March 18, on the show.
The Oswald Brothers took Round One and, it was announced Wednesday, the Peays won Round Two, by the slimmest of margins, over the Lorentzens.